Forever and AlwAys
by Hannah1630
Summary: Set after the Season 5 summer finale. Paige is tired of talking, and after that kiss, so is Emily. The story follows Emily and Paige's relationship through its ups and downs in the world of A.
1. Remembering Mona Vanderwaal

Emily stared at herself intently in the mirror. Was she overdressed? Was she underdressed? How had it all come to this?

Her thoughts were cut short by the sound of her phone buzzing on her dresser. It was Aria.

_Hey Em, Spencer's on her way to pick you up now. See you at the church._

It had been two weeks since _that day_. No one had seen it coming… no one but A. Mona had finally started to be honest, or at least she thought so. She had obviously said too much, so A stopped her talking completely. Hanna was still distraught, even after everything Mona had done to all of the girls, Hanna had more background with Mona than the rest of them.

Emily sat herself down on her window seat and stared out the window. The whole situation brought back unwanted memories about Maya, and the night her body was found. Nothing can prepare you for that, and she had never truly healed.

Since she'd been back, Alison had lured her into a false sense of security. Only for it to be ripped right from under her. Then there was Paige…

Before Emily could even begin to trawl through all of _that_, the doorbell rang.

The car journey to the church was practically silent. Both girls were absorbed in their own thoughts. Mona's funeral was something that none of the girls wanted to go through, yet they felt obliged in some way. In addition to that, there was no doubt Tanner and Holbrook would be sniffing around trying to catch them out. If they didn't attend, it would just look suspicious.

"So how's Toby's leg?" Emily asked, absent minded.

"Broken. The doctor's say he will be in a cast for 6-8 weeks, which means no Officer Toby until then." Spencer replied, looking positively guilty.

"It wasn't your fault, you know? It was an accident."

"Well I'm tired of accidents, whether they're made by A or otherwise." Spencer snapped, parking the car outside the church.

There was a good turnout. A good amount of people standing on the lawn outside, dressed in dark colours and looking solemn.

Once inside the church, Emily and Spencer joined Aria and Hanna. Emily gives Hanna a reassuring look, taking her hand.

"Where's Alison?" Emily asked, searching the faces of the guests.

Hanna shakes her head. "No idea, hopefully she'll just stay out of it. I can't deal with her right now."

"I don't think any of us can, but if she doesn't turn up, it will look suspicious" Spencer states, spotting Tanner and Holbrook on a bench at the back of the room.

"She can look as suspicious as she wants, might make it easier for them to lock her away." Aria mumbles, looking down at her hands.

All three girls look at her in shock, not quite believing what they have just heard.

"Aria! You can't say that!" Spencer snaps.

"Why not? You can't honestly tell me that you haven't all thought the same thing?" Aria replies, searching for reassurance in their expressions.

"Maybe we have, but now is not the time nor the place to be discussing who we think murdered Mona!" Emily whispers, the anger prominent in her voice.

Their conversation is cut short as the service begins, a quiet hush takes over the room as the life of Mona Vanderwaal is remembered…


	2. Gone and Almost Forgotten

Everyone is gathered on the lawn outside the church. It was an elegant ceremony, nothing too flashy…not like Alison's. Mona was a complex girl, but she had her quiet side. Alison on the other hand, it was always about her.

Emily scanned the faces of the people around her. She could see Lucas with his parents, looking obviously distressed. Mona's mother, Leona, standing talking to various relatives. It must be so hard for her, she doesn't have anyone left now.

Then she spotted Paige, standing with a few people Emily didn't recognise.

"I'm just glad it's over and done with. I really don't think I could have stayed in there a minute longer…all I can see is the blood." Hanna whispered, rubbing her face with exhaustion.

"You know you can always talk to us if you need to, right Hanna?" Aria replied, reaching out for Hanna's hand.

The almost heart-warming moment was cut short by Paige, standing awkwardly behind Spencer.

"Um…hi. Could I borrow Emily for a minute please?" she asks, looking between the girls for permission.

The girls nod awkwardly and smile at Emily as she follows Paige to a quieter corner of the lawn.

"So…how are you holding up?" Paige asks quietly.

Emily studies her hands, almost as if they will give her the answer she is looking for.

"I'm okay. It's sad but, I never really got on with Mona. I'm more concerned for Hanna really."

"I get that. They were friends before all of this happened."

"Paige, look. About what happened the other day, I – "

"Don't. What happened, happened. If something comes of it then great. If it doesn't…then I guess it's just…" she stops, unable to find the right words to finish her sentence.

Emily smiles sympathetically, but her smile fades quickly when she spots Tanner talking to the girls. Her usual assuming and arrogant manner is obvious from even where Emily is standing. Does she ever give up? What is this woman's problem?

Emily's freedom is short lived as the curly haired woman locks eyes with her and beckons her with her finger to join the group.

Emily sighs loudly and turns back to Paige.

"Look, I've got to go. Lieutenant Creepy McNosey is giving me orders. I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Sure, see you later." Paige replies. She turns and walks toward Lucas and his family.

Emily joins the rest of the girls, and you could cut the tension with a knife. Considering this woman isn't supposed to ask leading questions, she's doing a pretty good job of leading them all into jail.

"Emily, so nice of you to join us." Tanner says politely, with an underlying tone of sarcasm.

"My pleasure." Emily mumbles.

"Now girls, would you mind running through what happened when you entered the crime scene?"

"We gave all of our statements on the day, we don't have to do anything more." Spencer explains, the anger noticeable in her voice.

"I am aware of that Spencer, I am just trying to get a better understanding of what happened." Tanner replied, smirking slightly.

"Don't you think it's a conflict of interest that you're working on murder cases for both Detective Wilden _and _Mona?" Spencer adds, looking Tanner dead in the eyes.

Tanner pauses briefly before placing her pen back in her notepad and putting it back in her pocket.

"No one said I was working on Mona's murder case." She replies, turning on her heel and walking back to her car.

"Okay, what the hell was that all about?!" Aria whispers, looking at the girls for answers.

"I have no idea, but I'm getting really tired of her sniffing around all the time, we don't have anything to hide." Emily replies.

"Not about Mona's murder anyway, we don't know who did it." Spencer adds.

"No, but I have an idea." Aria mumbles.

Its 4:00pm by the time Emily gets home. She walks into the kitchen where her mom is preparing dinner.

"Oh hey Em, didn't hear you come in. How was it?" Pam asked, leaning on the counter.

"It was okay, a good turn out." Emily replied, putting her purse on the side then sitting at the counter.

"Are you okay? I know all of this is a lot to take in."

"I'm fine. Maybe we should all start getting used to everyone around us dying. It seems like a recurring theme in Rosewood lately." Emily replied, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl.

"Don't think like that sweetie, everything will sort itself out in the end." Pam assured her, a sympathetic smile spreading across her face.

"Yeah it will…one way or another."


	3. Look Who's Back

Spencer walked over to the table in The Brew, and placed two coffees down. It was the day after Mona's funeral and it was something the girls were desperately trying to forget. However they knew this was impossible, because A made it that way.

Emily knew that Hanna was replaying that day over and over in her mind, and the text from A blaming the whole thing on them was definitely not helping her to mourn. It was an unspoken truth, it was their fault…how can you have no control over something, and it still be your fault? Emily wondered, the question baffling her.

Her thoughts were cut short by Aria's phone buzzing. She picked it up cautiously and the girls all stared at her in anticipation. She looked down at her phone and gave a sympathetic smile. It wasn't A, not this time. What had their lives turned into? Flinching every time their phones rang was just the beginning. Looking back on those times now, they seemed like the happy times. Now instead of flinching at phones they were flinching at dead bodies.

They had all lost so much in such a small space of time, and the only thing anyone can ask, is why? Why them? Why now? What had they done that was so terrible to make someone dedicate their life…or lives…to making them miserable?

"Has anyone heard from A since Mona d-"Spencer shuffled in her seat uncomfortably. It was still a tender subject for Hanna. Everything felt hypersensitive for all of the girls. Spencer was appreciating the small things, since she never knew when the police would have more evidence to keep her in custody. For once, all of the legal technicalities were hazy to her. She used to be so on the ball with things like this, but that was always for other people. Now it was her who was facing the full force of the law, for something she knows she didn't do, and she had no idea how to deal with it.

The girls all shook their heads in response to Spencer's question. No one had heard from Alison either…if they were even two different people.

"What are we supposed to do if she expects to be best friends with us again?" Hanna asked, staring into her coffee cup.

"We do nothing, like they say, keep your friends close and your enemies clos-"

Spencer's face drops as she stares towards the door of The Brew. The girls read her expression and turn to see what she is looking at…or rather _who._

Jason DiLaurentis. He is standing in line waiting to order.

The girls are dead silent. Jason hasn't been back in Rosewood for weeks, months even. Why has he come back now? He wasn't at the funeral.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Aria asks, sinking down in her seat in an attempt not to be seen.

The girls watch him intently as he orders, waiting for him to do something…anything. The barista places two coffees on the counter. He pays quickly and leaves.

"Two coffees? He must be meeting someone…but who?" Emily asks, leaning back in her chair with relief.

"Alison?" Hanna replies, picking her coffee back up off the table.

"Maybe, but then again, it could be pretty much anyone in Rosewood." Spencer adds.

"I have no idea either, but I dislike the way he always shows up just after something big has gone down. It creeps me out." Aria says, checking her phone for the second time.

"How is Ezra by the way?" Emily asks, looking between Aria and her phone.

"Oh…he's fine…" Aria replies hastily…obviously not ready to share _that_ story.

"Right well I need to go get some things for my mom so I'll meet you guys at school tomorrow?" Emily asks, grabbing her bag and her half-drunk coffee off the table.

The girls exchange goodbyes and Emily leaves The Brew and heads for her car. Once inside she puts her bag on the seat next to her and her coffee in the cup holder. As she is about to put the key in the ignition she notices Jason DiLaurentis leaning against the wall of the small café across the road from The Brew.

He looked as though he was waiting for someone, but as Emily spied on him from the safety of her car, she watched him pull out his cell phone and then promptly head around the corner. Emily rushed the key into the ignition and pulled away, following him.

Once around the corner she searched the faces for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where had he gone? There wasn't any shop fronts or building entrances that he could have escaped into. Emily then spotted a small alleyway between two buildings, and it was her best guess that this was exactly where he had gone.

She parked the car and ran over to the alleyway entrance, leaving her bag and belongings in the car. She crept quietly into the alley, trying to keep her footsteps as light as possible. She couldn't hear anything, maybe he had gotten into a car? She continued into the alleyway regardless, taking cover behind a dumpster. Peering over the top of it, she could see the shadow of a person. Presuming it was Jason, she continued down the alley with her back against the wall. She got close enough to just be in earshot of the conversation, and it sounded like Jason alright.

"No, _you_ don't understand. No one can know I'm here Jason. It's important." A female voice urged, with aggression and desperation in her voice.

"I know that, why do you think I'm meeting you here and not in The Brew?" He responded, sounding just as aggressive.

"Did you do what I asked?"

"Of course I did…here."

There was silence for a few moments. Emily felt as though she was breathing louder than she should be, but she couldn't help it. The adrenaline was running through her, and she knew it wasn't just the coffee.

"Where's the rest of it?" She hissed.

"That's all I can get for now, but I can find more if you need it." Jason replied, sounded slightly less aggressive this time around. Was her scared of whoever he was talking to?

"I'll let you know, right I need to move. I've been in the same place for far too long. I'll contact you if I need you again."

Emily knew this was her cue to exit, otherwise she could be caught red handed. When she got back to her car she hardly knew what to do with herself, and all of the information she had just found. All she knew was that she needed to get out of here fast, before anyone knew she was here…


	4. So What's The Plan?

"That's exactly what happened…"

"Word for word?" Spencer asked, deep in thought.

"Word for word." Emily replied. She was standing by her window, the rest of the girls were perched on her bed. This sort of information couldn't wait until lunch.

"It sounds like he was giving this person money, the way she asked if it was all there." Aria explained.

Emily nodded in agreement, "I thought that too, but I spent all of last night tossing and turning so I came up with a few other possibilities of what it could have been too."

"Like?" Spencer asked, almost leaning forward in anticipation.

Emily shuffled uncomfortably, she wasn't used to being the shot caller, or the one with the information. That was Spencer's job. "I thought maybe it could have been documentation, maybe passports or something involving travel. It could also have been something simple like food…"

The girls stared at her intently, waiting for her to continue. If they didn't know her so well then they probably wouldn't have known she wasn't telling them everything that she had considered, but they did, and now she had to continue.

"And then I considered something that genuinely freaked me out. What if it was some kind of evidence, against us, like photos?"

The girls sat in silence for a moment, processing the thought. It was obviously that they were thinking about the time Spencer and Emily found the photos of Aria in Jason's shed. The thought still made them shudder.

"What if he has pictures of all of us?" Hanna asked, disgust flooding across her face.

Spencer stands up, breaking the atmosphere. "Before we all get creeped out and start panicking about Jason _apparently_ handing over imaginary photos to a mysterious woman. We need to look at this logically, what would anyone want with random photos of us sleeping? There's no purpose."

She had a point. But that still didn't rule out some kind of evidence, and the girls knew that.

"Does this mean that Jason is helping A?" Aria asked. She had stayed silent until now, obviously processing what was going on.

"Possibly, but we also need to consider whether this is completely unrelated to A." Emily responded, a reassuring smile spreading across her face.

The rest of the girls looked at her in disbelief. _Nothing _that happened to the girls was ever unrelated to A. It almost seemed taboo to suggest it.

The girls were on their lunch break before they knew it and had gathered around their table in the courtyard to continue speculating on Jason's encounter with the mysterious femme fatal. Emily kept going over the scene in her head, hoping to remember something of more importance, or a second meaning to something that had been said. It was no use, she had replayed it more than 30 times and nothing new was arising.

"Maybe someone should talk to him?" Hanna suggested, putting the straw into her unopened drink.

"Oh yeah, that's a great idea. 'Hi Jason, do you happen to be working with the person that has killed a bunch of people in Rosewood and who has been torturing us for the last God knows how long?'" Aria gushed, the sarcasm in her voice apparent.

"Maybe it is a good idea, I could go and talk to him." Spencer replied, looking up from her laptop and then continuing to type furiously.

"I don't think that's such a good idea…couldn't he find out that I was following him?" Emily asked, wringing her hands nervously.

"He's just lost his mother, and his sister has gone off the rails. I know he wasn't always close to them, but he's on his own in this too." Spencer explained.

"On his own…he could have a whole army helping him get through this, and their name's The A Team." Aria added, pulling out her phone and beginning to text.

The girls shook their heads in disbelief and continued with their lunches. Before they could really go into any more depth the bell rang and they carried on their days as normally as they could.

Emily was walking up her path to her front door when she felt her phone vibrate. She unlocked the door, put her bag on the side and pulled out her phone.

_Hey Em, was wondering if you wanted to hang out tomorrow night? Let me know. –Paige._

Emily couldn't help but smile. It reminded her of the old times, when things were a little less difficult. She had helped her through the toughest of times, and it felt like times were about to get even tougher.


	5. Seeing Double

* Hi guys, just a little side not from me. I really appreciate all of the views and reviews I'm getting on this. It really means a lot to know you are enjoying reading this, and it definitely motivates me to keep writing. I hope can continue to keep you interested! I've just started University (or college depending) and it's really difficult to keep up with weekly updates, so I will try my best to be as consistent as possible!*

It was early the next morning and Hanna was lying across Emily's bed reading a fashion magazine. It never failed to make Emily smile how Hanna could just switch her mind off from things and continue as if everything was A okay…wait…never mind.

"So how's Caleb? I heard it didn't go so well with Toby the other day…" Emily asked, whilst applying the finishing touches to her make-up.

"He's getting better. We had a pretty deep heart to heart about everything. Things are…complex." She responded, not looking up from her magazine.

Emily knew Hanna wasn't ready to talk about whatever had happened between the two of them, so she quickly changed the subject.

"So…I'm going on a date tonight…" Emily said, watching Hanna's face intently in the mirror. She got the exact response that she had hoped for.

Hanna threw down her magazine and frantically scooted towards the end of the bed, obviously eager for answers.

"So…don't leave me hanging here! Who is it with?!" Hanna asked, leaning forward in anticipation.

Emily took a deep breath in. She had to approach this subject carefully. Hanna's response could go either way, and so could the rest of the girls'.

"It's with Paige…" Emily replied, with almost complete confidence. The slight hint of anxiety could be heard underneath the words.

She stared at Hanna for what seemed like minutes, trying to analyse her expression. Was she mad? Was she disappointed? It was torture not knowing what she was thinking…then she finally spoke.

"You know what Em, if she makes you happy, I see no reason for you to not pursue it." She replied, a smile spreading across her face.

Emily smiled back at her. She couldn't help but wonder if things were different between Hanna and Caleb, whether the answer she received would have been the different?

The school day had flown by in a blur. Emily couldn't stop thinking about what might lie ahead that evening. Even when she tried to take her mind off it, something would remind her of Paige.

She walked into the girls' locker room and put her bag down on the bench. She had calculated that by the time the swim meet had finished and she had made her way home, she would have exactly an hour and a half to make herself presentable for tonight's festivities… that of which were still a surprise.

Paige had a knack for surprises. Albeit not always of the positive kind, but when she put her mind to it, she could create some really fantastic memories. A small smile spread across her face as she ran through some of those memories in her mind. However this was abruptly shattered by the presence of a more sinister being in the room. Sydney Driscoll.

Since the weird Jenna incident, Emily still felt as though she was seeing double. It made her very uneasy being anywhere near Sydney. What did she really know about her? If she ever knew anything at all…

"Hi Emily." Sydney chirped, placing her bag in her locker and slamming it shut. "How are you on this fine afternoon?" She turned on her heel, waiting for an answer.

"I have absolutely nothing to say to you Sydney." Emily replied sharply, mimicking her actions by placing her own bag in her locker.

"Awww." She mocked, pretending to be sad. "See that's a shame isn't it Emily. Seen as I'm practically the only reason you're here right now…" She hissed.

Emily shut her locker door and turned to face Sydney once again.

"Don't pride yourself Sydney, this position was open for me any time that I wanted it. All you did was remind me of that fact."

"Of course, you keep telling yourself that." She turned and began to walk out of the locker room, but stopped just short of the door. "Oh and by the way, enjoy your date with Paige tonight. I guess she found someone else to go with after I turned her down."

Without saying another word, she continued out of the room. Leaving Emily totally speechless.


	6. All The Things She Said

The swim meet had been a daze, and Emily knew the exact reason for that. Why on Earth would Paige ask Sydney on a date? Especially after everything that had gone on between them. She wanted nothing more than to believe that it was Sydney's way of getting the upper hand. She had to be lying. But it was eating her up inside, what if she was telling the truth?

If she was, she'd have even more reason to tell Emily, because she knew it was the one thing that would hurt her the most. Giving up Paige in the first place was possibly one of the hardest things Emily had ever had to do…and she had been through _a lot_.

The thing that scared her the most was the fact that if she really wasn't lying, what did this mean for Paige and her? Was she the rebound? Or was it revenge? The thought made her stomach churn, but she was certain she wouldn't throw up…you had to have eaten for that.

The car ride home flew past as quickly as the swim meet, for a short moment Emily pondered how she hadn't had an accident on the way home. Unwanted thoughts filled her mind. What was she supposed to do? Go on the date and pretend like nothing had happened? Go and confront her? Or just not go at all?

None of this was making any sense, and the more she thought about it the more it tied her up in knots. She knew she had to eat something, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Staring at her phone intently, she internally argued with herself about what to do. After what seemed like hours, she picked up the phone and dialled the number.

"Hi, I need your advice about something, have you got 5 minutes?" 

The doorbell rang and Emily felt a slight wave of relief. After all this time, she knew that the advice she would get would be unbiased and helpful. She was just grateful she had the memories to base that on, because after all, it could have turned out drastically different.

Emily opened the front door and a small smiled appeared on her face. Toby stood in the doorway, leaning on his crutches. _Of course__**, **_she had completely overlooked the events of the past few weeks in her moment of self-pity.

"So, what's going on in the world of Emily Fields?" Toby asked with a smirk on his face, propping his leg up on the foot rest in Emily's living room.

Emily walked back from the kitchen, holding two glasses filled with lemonade. She placed the one glass down on the table next to Toby.

"Where do I even begin? It's been a whirlwind to say the least." She replied, sitting down on the chair opposite him. "Thank you for coming over at such short notice, I appreciate it."

"You're very welcome, besides it's not like I have much else I can be doing. There's only so much Dr Phil you can watch before you start examining your own life in a little too much detail…" He joked, bringing a smile to Emily's face for that short moment.

"So I wanted to ask your advice, I agreed to go on a date with Paige tonight…" She waiting for Toby's reaction but after a moment she realised he was just waiting for her to continue talking. "But I ran into Sydney Driscoll earlier and she basically told me that Paige had already asked her and she had turned her down, and that was the only reason Paige had asked me."

Emily paused for a moment and took a deep breath. All of her words seemed to have merged into one, but she couldn't help it.

"And what makes you think Sydney is telling the truth?" Toby asked, taking a sip of his drink and placing it back on the table.

"How else would she know that Paige and I had plans tonight?"

"There are one thousand and one ways that she could have found out. As much as you may want to believe she has something to do with A, who knows anything and everything about everyone, she could have just overheard Paige talking to someone else about it."

Toby had a point, and Emily could see that, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Sydney had some truth behind what she was saying.

"You know that Sydney has tried to sabotage you before, there's absolutely no reason why she wouldn't try it again. People like _that_ can't stand to see other people happy." Toby explained.

"People like what?" Emily asked, noticing the change in Toby's expression.

"Nothing. She's just a bully, just like Alison." Toby shifted uncomfortably, this didn't go unnoticed by Emily. "Look I should get going, Spencer wants me to listen to one of her speeches before she rewrites the whole thing when I tell her it's great." He smiled slightly, easing himself out of the chair and grabbing his crutches.

"Yeah, she has a habit of doing that doesn't she?" Emily smirked "Thanks again for this, I won't let Sydney ruin my evening."

"Good, I'm glad. I'll see you around." Toby said as he slowly left her house and hopped down the path."

Now it was time to face the second biggest problem in her life right now…choosing what to wear…


	7. The Night I've Been Waiting For

*Hi guys, just to give you a little update: I'm trying my best to keep this flowing as smoothly as possible but I've just started University so I'm struggling to juggle all of the assignments I'm doing. I'm extremely sorry that there has been such a long delay in this, but the work should start to even out now. I'll try my best to keep this a frequent as possible because I really enjoy the feedback I get from you guys *

Emily threw down the fifth top she had tried on, onto the bed. This was getting ridiculous! She had been through practically all of her closet and nothing seemed to be doing the trick. I suppose it would help if she actually knew where she was going, but Paige was having none of it. She liked her surprises to say the least.

She pulled out a dark red halter neck top and pulled it against herself to examine it in the mirror. Combined with her bright, white jeans and her army style boots, it looked good…but casual too, just in case.

She checked her phone, it was 10 minutes until she was due to be picked up. She quickly pulled her top on and grabbed her black leather jacket off the end of her bed frame. She double checked her make-up, natural but elegant, and headed down the stairs.

Right on time, she heard a knock at her front door. Her heart beat sped up immediately, this was it. She hadn't felt this nervous in a long time, it was a feeling she had almost missed.

She had one last look in the mirror, took a deep breath and opened the door. Paige was standing on the doorstep with a large bouquet of flowers. Emily couldn't help but let a huge smile spread across her face.

Paige was wearing light blue jeans with ankle-high cowboy boots. She has a cropped denim jacket with a light blue top underneath. Her hair was falling in loose curls onto her shoulders.

"Hi…" Paige said quietly, with a smirk on her face.

"Hi." Emily replied in as quiet a voice as Paige.

"I got you these…I hope you like them…" Paige explained, handing the flowers to Emily.

Emily took the flowers and peered over the top of them to look at Paige. "They're beautiful, thank you."

Once in the car, Emily's hands seemed to stop shaking. She was settling into her comfort zone. Paige had that effect on her. She glanced over at her briefly. Paige was concentrating on driving, but she knew Emily was looking at her.

"So… you're still keeping it a secret as to where we are going?" Emily asked, looking out the car window for clues.

"Yep, you'll know it when we get there." Paige replied, smiling slightly.

"So I've been there before?" Emily asked, prying more into the subject.

Paige was silent for a moment. "Maybe." She replied.

"Have _we_ been there before?"

A smirk spread across Paige's face. "Maybe."

Emily smiled. They had been to many places, it didn't really do much in regards to narrowing it down.

After what seemed like hours, the car pulled into the parking lot of their date destination. Emily searched the surrounding area for clues as to where they were. She recognised parts, but not enough to make an informed decision about where they were.

Paige got out of the car and walked around to Emily's side. She opened the door and Emily slid out of the car. She shocked herself with how elegant she appeared, consider the state of jelliness her legs were in.

Still unsure of where they were, Paige led Emily around the side of the building and to the main entrance. How could she still not know where she was?

Once inside, the familiar sound of country music and beer glasses jogged her memory. This is where Paige took her for the karaoke! She looked towards the stage and sure as day there it was, that dreaded karaoke machine. Emily knew there was _no way _Paige was getting her anywhere near that thing this time. She smiled at the thought.

"What's got you so smiley?" Paige asked. Emily didn't even know she was looking at her.

"Oh, just memories…of your terrible singing." Emily smirked, walking over to an empty booth in the corner.

Paige acted offended, then smiled and followed Emily to the booth.

"You do realise this is the same one we sat in before, right?" Paige asked, pointing towards the seats.

"I did not…but I'm going to pretend that I do so I look like I'm a smooth date." She winked playfully, Paige's smile made her heart flutter. _Oh _how she had missed that.

"So, how are you doing? I know we haven't really kept in touch lately, since everything that happened with Mona." Paige's voice trailed off when the name 'Mona' reached her lips.

"Um." Emily thought for a moment. It was a short moment, but it was important. For the first time, someone had asked her how she was, and _wanted _to know the answer. "It's been tough, coming to terms with everything, but I know I'll get there in the end."

Paige smiled reassuringly, then reached over and placed Emily's hand in hers, so they were both resting on the table.

"You know that if you ever need anything, _at all_, I will be there for you. I know I haven't been recently, and it has affected me so much. I regret everything, and I want you to know, it will _never _happen again." Paige explained, the hurt in her eyes obvious as she recalled the events of the past few months.

Emily wasn't too sure what to say. She knew Paige was hurt, but still couldn't help but feel as though the hurt wasn't for her…but for someone else. She quickly pushed the thoughts of what Syndey had said away, now was _not _the time…or was it?

"I know, and it has been tough on all of us. Losing Mona hasn't just left people in mourning, its left us all permanently shaken. The thought that A is taking lives now, lives that are only just beginning…it just isn't right." Emily explained, her forehead creasing as she spoke.

"It will get better, I promise. Now, what would you like to drink?" Paige asked, looking over at the waitress and motioning her to come over.

"I'll have a beer please." Emily replied, reaching for her purse.

"Oh no need, it's my treat." Paige urged, pulling her money from her pocket. Emily always found it amusing how if she could help it, Paige would never carry a purse. She would fit the entire contents of her bag in her pockets without fail.

While Paige was ordering, Emily made her way to the restroom. She looked at herself in the huge mirrors that spread across the wall, and took a deep breath in. She was glad that she was here, but she couldn't shift what had previously been said from her mind, and it was making her angry.

Why should Sydney get the pleasure of ruining her date with Paige? Why should she trust anything that came out of that girl's mouth? She knew the only way to solve this was to broach the subject with Paige, but she had no idea how.

She exited the restrooms and headed back towards the booth. She stopped just short of the row of tables, after noticing someone else was in her seat. Who was she and why was she sitting with Paige? The girl had her back to Emily, she couldn't see her face.

She stayed exactly still, not making a move in case it drew Paige's attention towards her. The mysterious brunette was short and small built. She had a dark blue denim jacket on and beige horse-rider style boots on. Was she local?

Emily had so many questions flying around in her head, none of which she could answer.

She watched the table intently, trying to read Paige's lips and her expression. She looked angry, and stressed out. That was good…_right? _Emily focused her attention on Paige's lips, trying desperately to decipher what she was saying. There was too much background noise in the bar to hear anything.

It looked as though Paige was saying "shouldn't be here" and "just turn up unannounced". Then Emily saw something that she wished she hadn't. It cut through her life a knife… the words "I told you it was over…"


End file.
